In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 5:14-17:14"

Many Of You Remember The Moving Final Scene Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Don Hawks on Apr 13, 2002

Many of you remember the moving final scene of the Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler’s List where Oscar Schindler, the Polish businessman, used a portion of his fortune to put the names of Jews on a work list that would keep them from going to concentration camps. Faces, - those who escaped ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Finding Fulfillment, Money

Denomination: Methodist

A Corrective Look At God—communion Meditation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2002

A CORRECTIVE LOOK AT GOD--COMMUNION MEDITATION "George Buttrick, former chaplain at Harvard, recalls that students would come into his office, plop down on a chair and declare, 'I don’t believe in God.' Buttrick would give this disarming reply: 'Sit down and tell me what kind of God you don’t ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:53-58

Forgive Us Our Debts...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Mccarley on Apr 30, 2002

FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS... A pastor friend recently told the true story of one of his church members, an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months. He drafted a letter explaining his decision and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:12

Tags: Sin, Mercy, Atonement, Debt, Forgiveness For Others, Forgiveness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency Did A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2002

The Leo Burnett advertising agency did a nationwide telephone survey a few years ago on lying, cataloging when we lie, how we lie, and why we lie. The results were interesting. Ninety-one percent of all Americans confessed that they regularly lied. Seventy-nine percent had given out ...read more

Scripture: John 8:44, Matthew 5:33-37, Jude 1:2-5, Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Lies

One Day A Man Was Talking To His Grandson ...

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jul 2, 2002

ILL. One day a man was talking to his grandson right after he had graduated from high school. And he asked, "My boy, what are your plans? What are you going to do with your life?" The grandson said, "I plan to go to college & then graduate from college. His grandfather ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:26, Luke 9:25

Tags: Life, Planning, Eternity, Future, Graduation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Law Of The Pendulum  PRO

Contributed by Steven Dow on Jul 17, 2002

THE LAW OF THE PENDULUM In college a student was asked to prepare a lesson to teach his speech class. He was to be graded on creativity and ability to drive home a point in a memorable way. The title of his talk was, “The Law of the Pendulum.” He spent twenty minutes carefully teaching the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 9:10, Psalm 37:3, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 26:4, Matthew 8:19  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Trust, Risk, Provision, Faith, Doubt, Belief  (view more)  (view less)

Stolen Billfold  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jul 21, 2002

Stolen Billfold John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn’t there! So he slammed on the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:37, Matthew 7:1

Tags: Compassion, Grace

Denomination: Baptist

Willing To Die  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Jul 21, 2002

WILLING TO DIE Lance Armstrong is a phenomenal cyclist who has won the Tour De France for the last four years--and that after having survived cancer! One of the keys to his success as an athlete has been his single-minded devotion to training, including a willingness to suffer physically, to push ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18-19

Tags: Endurance, Discipleship, Lord's Supper

Denomination: Baptist

Kidnapped By Hatred  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on Jul 21, 2002

KIDNAPPED BY HATRED On February 9, 1960, Adolph Coors III, millionaire head of Coors Company, was kidnapped and held for ransom. Seven months later his body was found on a remote hillside. He had been shot to death. Adolph Coors IV was then fifteen years old. He lost not only his father, but also ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:14-15, John 10:1-42, John 5:1-9, Luke 8:43-48, Luke 8:43-48, Luke 8:43-48  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: *other

Though The Following Story Comes From The ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Gibney on Aug 7, 2002

Though the following story comes from the distant past, it speaks forcefully to the present: King Henry IV of France once asked the Duke of Alva if he had observed the great eclipse of the sun that had recently occurred. "No," said the duke, "I have so much to do on the earth that I have no leisure ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:24-30

Tags: Rewards, Giving Yourself, Heaven

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Young Fellow Wanted To Be A Star Journalist But ...  PRO

Contributed by Edwin Amundson on Aug 9, 2002

A young fellow wanted to be a star journalist but lived in a small town (not much possibility). One day the dam upstream broke and the town was flooded. He got in a rowboat and headed out to look for a story. Finding a lady sitting on her rooftop, he tied up the boat and told her what he was after. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-26

Tags: Leadership General, Endurance

Denomination: Baptist

There Were Three People In Heaven Who Decided One ...  PRO

Contributed by Wayne Major on Aug 10, 2002

There were three people in heaven who decided one day to play a round of golf at the heavenly country club. The first man stepped up to the tee, hit his drive, and watched as it headed straight for the water hazard. Just as the ball was about to land in the water, he raised his club, pointed it ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Communication General, Unknown, Uncertain

Denomination: Methodist

Service Requires Action  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2002

SERVICE REQUIRES ACTION A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out. A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there." An objective person walked by and said, "It’s logical that someone would fall down there." A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits." A ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 19:17, James 2:14-17, Matthew 8:14-15  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Compassion, Christian Disciplines

Finger Of God  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 23, 2002

[Finger of God] An old deacon was leading in prayer using one of his stereotypical phrases, which was “Oh Lord, touch the unsaved with Thy finger.” As he intoned this phrase in this particular prayer, he stopped short. Other members came to his side and asked if ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 9:35-38

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Great Commission, Sharing Your Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Difference Does It Make?  PRO

Contributed by David Salisbury on Oct 2, 2002

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $25.00 a ticket to watch the Titans huddle. What if you went to a Titans game and for 2½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Church Purpose Of, Church, Adversity, Outreach, Purpose  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Faithful For A Sign  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Oct 2, 2002

FAITHFUL FOR A SIGN Tracy Harp of Lynnwood, Washington is 34 years of age and has been a diabetic for 21 years. She sent me the following letter. “On Monday, August 19, 2002 I was running late for work. I had missed my carpool, which meant I had to drive myself into work. I work at 4:00pm to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-13

Tags: Faith General, God's Provision

Denomination: Pentecostal

Christian Author Max Lucado Says, "We Aren't ...  PRO

Contributed by Aaron Burgess on Oct 7, 2002

Christian author Max Lucado says, “We aren’t good enough to judge. Can the hungry accuse the beggar? Can the sick mock the ill? Can the blind judge the deaf?” In the same way, can the sinner condemn the sinner? Absolutely not! He goes on to say, “Be careful! The Peter who denies Jesus at ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-43

Tags: God's Judgment, Friendship New Friends, Christian Love

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Last Week, Bernie Came To The Church Door. He ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Oct 9, 2002

Last week, Bernie came to the church door. He showed up about five minutes before I was getting ready to leave for an appointment, and my first response to his arrival was, oh, no, not now. Bernie had been drinking – I could smell it on his breath. He was sweating profusely and was a little bit ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13-20

Tags: Fellowship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I'm Only A Mirror Fragment  PRO

Contributed by Matt Black on Oct 26, 2002

I’M ONLY A MIRROR FRAGMENT I want to share with you a story about a very interesting well-educated Greek philosopher whose name is Dr. Alexander Popaderos. And Dr. Popaderos every summer on the island of Crete taught a class on ethics for two weeks. And this particular summer just as he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Character, Evangelism, Fulfillment, God Brings Purpose, Reflect  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Hungry Enemy  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Oct 27, 2002

A HUNGRY ENEMY A woman wrote to "Pulpit Helps" to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20 RSV). She writes: Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:20, Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Enemy, Forgiveness General, Christian Love, Christlikeness, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ